We love shining a light into the drag racing window around the world and today Norway is our chose destination where we find the awesome little Team Volvo dragster. What makes this car cool is the use of an old Volvo B20 engine and lots of boost to go quick. Oh, what also makes this cool is the fact that the dragster spends most of its time on unprepared runway style drag strips than the glued down palaces of speed specifically designed to host racing action. You want to talk no prep? Watch these videos and tell us again about how the drag strip that was only swept is unprepared. Hell, on most of these runs it doesn’t even look like planes have landed on the runways yet!
While we do not know much about the chassis itself (other than the fact that the front half has the appearance of being on the older side) we can tell you a little about the basics of the engine. The Volvo B20 was a slightly larger of the tough as nails B18 engine. That little B18 was nearly indestructible and if you remember, the highest mileage example of one recorded 2.5-million miles! The B20 was produced from 1969 to 1981 and it is interesting in a couple of respects. The first is that the bore centers of the engine are different between cylinders 2 and three than they are between 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. Other than a little more bore (measuring 3.5″) the engine is mechanically identical to the B18 it followed.
The highest horsepower factory version made 135hp and was equipped with fuel injection in the early 1970s. This one makes loads more than that.
You can see the turbo, the intercooler, the fabricated stack style injection tubes, and some of the other assorted kit that makes this little dragster run in the 8s (quarter mile) at more than 150 mph. According to at least one video the guys were jamming about 40psi of boost down the throat of the engine to get these levels of performance. That’s stout! The team does use nitrous help spool the turbo as well.
The last video in the pile is pretty awesome because you’ll see the little ‘banger equipped machine put a hole shot on a V8 powered car and seemingly hold him off all the way to the stripe!
Check out the videos below of the Team Volvo Dragster making laps in Norway –
Europeans! If you ever need to see craftsmanship, just try and find some British bike mags from the nineties (Back Street Heroes for example)
They built choppers and street fighter bikes from ANYTHING with a motorbike engine, and done it with fully skilled, no compromise quality. Lots of Swedish chopper builds too, high level skills! And no engine snobbery
I’m the driver 🙂
P.r.is 8.18s/160mph on the quartermile. (Actually spun the wheels and had a bad 60ft) with a perfect start, it would have been in th 7’s, but the hunt is still on for a 7-second run.
It ran 5.00 at the eightmile.
Last time at the track, was back in 2018, and it made around 920hp at 53psi of boost (it overshot on the boost controller, ran lean, and cracked the cylinders.
It’s 128cid, has a 320degree camshaft, and anbw s480 turbo (82mm).
If you have any questions: [email protected]
Regards Per-Åge Nygård
No-prep (really bad grip at start), but still under 6 seconds/134mph at tge eightmile (1.55 60ft)
The green car normally runs the quartermile in 7.6-7.7s. It’s only 125lbs heavier than the dragster and has 900hp + 300hp nitrous
https://youtu.be/0VSjXI8x8Qo